Dairy Is Getting Real Scared

Good News –  The “Get Real” campaign, recently launched by the National Dairy Council and Dairy Management Inc., might be a sign that the dairy industry is on the run.

Although the industry has launched many advertising campaigns in the past, this new one has a slight aroma of desperation. The industry is clearly concerned about the 12% drop in milk sales since 2009.

More Good News – The Physician’s Committee For Responsible Medicine (PCRM) has already issued its statement on Dairy’s latest propaganda campaign. PCRM has a history of taking dairy to task for misleading campaigns. In 2005, Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC)Division of Advertising Practices met with USDA staff and representatives of the National Fluid Milk Processor Promotion Board and The National Dairy Promotion and Research Board, who agreed to discontinue all advertising and marketing activities involving weight loss claims. The FTC’s action was prompted by a lawsuit filed by PCRM. Over many decades, the dairy industry, with the help of the USDA, has mislead us about the health benefits of dairy products. This history, and mountains of scientific research linking dairy to various chronic disease, finally has Americans coming to the conclusion that Dairy is Scary. But this brings me to the Bad News.

Bad News – The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (AND), which represents nutrition professionals, is supporting the “Get Real” campaign and its push to underscore “the decades of research reinforcing low-fat milk as one of the most nutrient-rich beverages available.” The AND’s support of this campaign can only hurt its image. It directly opposes the recommendations of at least two prestigious researchers – Dr. Walter Willett from Harvard University and Dr. T. Colin Campbell, professor emeritus from Cornell University. Research from these and other universities is a major reason that milk sales are dropping in America.

Why is the AND supporting the “Get Real” campaign? Could it be that it is influenced by an industry that has been a decades-long sponsor of the AND? I hope that it is not the reason, but no one can deny the clear conflict of interest that results in such industry sponsorships. If the AND is not tainted by industry cash, its support of “Get Real” can be explained by its highly reductionist view of food and nutrition. Such a view focuses on a few nutrients taken out of context of the bigger health picture. Dairy will promote its products as “good” sources of a few nutrients, but ignores the overall health implications of diets that include moderate to large amounts of dairy products. More and more Americans are beginning to look at nutrition from a wholistic perspective. They are figuring out that if their diet is dominated by health promoting foods and devoid of disease promoting foods, like dairy, they have the best chance of avoiding or reversing chronic disease. It is disheartening to me that the AND leadership can’t figure this out.

I want to end with some good news

Good News – The AND leadership does not speak for all registered dietitians/nutritionists. There are a growing number of us who take a wholistic approach to nutrition. Some are listed in the “Resources”  page on this site.  A wholistic approach to nutrition and health has allowed us to help people recapture their health and reduce or eliminate the need to take harsh medications. Can you imagine being medication-free? One way to get there is to go dairy-free.